Before I move on to the final chapter of the Caribbean birding adventure, let’s have a look at the Lesser Antilles from the perspective of an organized birding tour that went to 9 islands. Rigdon Currie has a wonderful channel on Youtube for birders and I always enjoy seeing how other people experience the same birding locations. You get a better perspective of the parrot outlooks and how difficult it is to spot the parrots as they zoom past.
Last but not least, Puerto Rico coming up next!
The Rufous-throated Solitaire (Myadestes genibarbis) is a species of bird placed in the family Turdidae. The bird is nicknamed the siffleur montagne (or mountain whistler) in Dominica. This little guy came pretty close to me at the Syndicate.
They are found on several Caribbean Islands such as Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent.
I love this cute “red beard” effect of their colouring!
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. I saw this one as we were driving up to the Syndicate Forest. I think it’s a female as the crest isn’t that bright blue colour.
They are found in found in the Caribbean Islands of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, north-east Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles. The only island where I saw one was Dominica.
These clips really show the beauty of the male bird’s crest!
And this one is trying to have a drink and a bath at the same time!
The Purple-throated Carib (Eulampis jugularis) is a beautiful species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae found in the Caribbean islands.
They have a wide distribution in the Caribbean. I personally saw them in St Lucia & St Vincent. They are very striking when the sun highlights their purple throats!
Se what a beauty he is, they even put a slo-mo sequence at the end!
A little privacy please, can’t you see I am taking a shower?
After the birding tour, we had some time to spare so we asked to be the last ones dropped off so we could get a look around Castries while other people were dropped at their hotels.
We got off at the market which was near closing time but still a few stalls open. I knew what I wanted – anything with a St Lucia Parrot on it.
Maybe someone is tired of shopping?
In the taxi on the way to the airport.
I love this airline’s logo!
The islanders are proud of their native parrot, the St Lucia Parrot!
The Saint Lucia Oriole (Icterus laudabilis) is a species of bird, in the family Icteridae and genus Icterus (or American Orioles). It is endemic to Saint Lucia.
Although they can be found anywhere on St Lucia, the only place I saw them (the pair pictured above) was on Des Cartiers Trail.
Not sure why there aren’t more videos online, maybe they are hard to spot or people are more focused on their fellow endemic bird the St Lucia Parrot. Their coloring is very striking and they are a treat to see!
I have already blogged the main part of the birding trip but I think Des Cartiers Trail deserves a post of its own.
This is a ranger station where you pay to enter the trail although this was included in our tour fee so Vision paid for the group.
Good information at the ranger station and restrooms as well.
Vision whistling at a bird to lure it closer. The trail is uphill and challenging for the unfit (like me) but well maintained and relatively easy
We finally arrived at a small platform where we settled in to watch for St Lucia Parrots.
We didn’t have to wait long, the St Lucia Parrots were swooping back and forth in the valley. Getting a photo was a challenge as they were far away and hard to focus on. Below you see my best attempts. Others have been luckier and the parrots perched in the trees near the platform.
The Saint Lucia Amazon (Amazona versicolor) also known as the Saint Lucia Parrot is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to Saint Lucia and is the country’s national bird.
I did my best to get photos of them as they flew by in pairs but it was hard to focus on them against the green background but at least I got the colours!
This beautiful St Lucia endemic is most easily seen at Des Cartiers Trail in St Lucia.
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
How lucky to get this close to one!
Conservation efforts to save the parrots.
Since we only had one full day in St Lucia, I had organized a birding day trip with our lodge, A Peace of Paradise. The company is WIldLife Ambassadors and our guide was Vision, who was very knowledgeable about the island’s birds and managed to find most of the endemics for us.
Our first stop was near Mamiku & Praslin where we saw several endemics. The lighting was bad but I tried! eBird List
Next stop was to be the highlight of the trip – Des Cartiers Trail and will be on a separate post.
The third stop was Eau Piquant Pond where we saw a number of waders and sea birds.
The birds weren’t the only ones fishing!
We stopped here to buy sandwiches/takeaway for lunch.
The final stop was on a hill top overlooking the sea. At this point, the group went for a walk but it was so hot I decided to stay behind and relax a bit.
We then drove back to Castries dropping off birders at their hotels along the way. Since we were catching a plane to St Vincent, we asked Vision to drop us in town so we could do some shopping, then get a taxi to the airport.
A Peace of Paradise is a charming little B&B located on the eastern side of St Lucia in a tropical rainforest setting and very close to the prime birding spots. If you aren’t planning to rent a car (you probably won’t need one), then it is best to have them pick you up on arrival at the airport as it is a bit tricky to find the first time. It’s just past the Fox Grove Inn and up the hill a bit.
The lodge is a beautiful house situated on a hill overlooking the rainforest with a beautiful verandah to relax and enjoy the view.
The rooms are clean and cozy with windows on to the verandah.
The one thing you need to be aware of is that the power points are different than the USA type which is more common in the Caribbean Islands. If you don’t have one like that pictured below, ask the staff to loan you one so you can charge your camera and devices.
We were only there one night and checked out early but they still left some bread, jam & juice in the fridge for our breakfast. Birding trips start very early.
A Peace of Paradise is a great place to stay if you aren’t into beaches and want a more relaxed Caribbean style experience. The prices are very reasonable and they can organize your birding trips for you, also some nice hikes in the rainforest. It’s one of the closest properties to Des Cartiers Trail where you can see St Lucia Parrots! It is somewhat isolated from shops and restaurants (except for the neighboring hotel) so you may want to stick up on snacks and drinks before you check in.
